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‘Before treatment I wasn’t even able to stand near anybody who had ice in their glass.

‘A cool drink was out of the question but now there will be no more warm drinks for me.

‘I’ve even been able to walk down the frozen food aisle in the supermarket for the first time in nearly 30 years.

‘I can’t believe it myself. It is so liberating.’

The mother of three now claims to be cured of her phobia after appearing on ITV's This Morning and receiving treatment from psychotherapists Nik and Eva Speakman

Following treatment from psychotherapists, Mrs Wiffen claims she has now been cured of the phobia which has ruled her life for so long. She could be seen on the show stood next to ice and touching ice cubes

Mrs Wiffen was cured during a live appearance on ITV’s This Morning after producers read about her plight on MailOnline and invited her on air for treatment.

Her story first emerged last year when she told how she tried to seek help from her GP after being trapped in her home in the cold weather.

It was thought her phobia stemmed from slipping on ice when she was seven months pregnant with the eldest of her three children, who are now aged 28, 25 and 21.

She said she slipped while walking to the shops and was left fearing her unborn son had been harmed.

At the time, she told how she was left virtually housebound in cold weather because of her fear and had to stock up on groceries to avoid going out in the snow.

She also told how she was becoming increasingly upset that her phobia was preventing her from taking part in activities like snowman building and sledging with her grandchildren.

Mrs Wiffen said one of the things she was now looking forward to doing was to treat her grandchildren to an ice-lolly - something she claims she has never been able to do in the past

She said: ‘It ruled my life, summer and winter, it never left me and I was at my wits end. I beat bowel cancer but I could not beat this phobia.

‘I used to dread the hot weather because I knew that meant the ice cream van would come round and all the kids would be having ice lollies.

FROZEN WITH FEAR: PAGOPHOBIA

Pagophobia is an intense and irrational fear of ice and frost, which can be triggered by a traumatic event, including slipping on snow.

In extreme cases, individuals refuse to leave home in such weather conditions and avoid anything frozen.

Symptoms can vary from mild anxiety to full-blown panic attacks and nausea, causing major disruption to everyday life.

If left untreated, the anxiety can become completely debilitating.

Treatment follows the usual recommendations for dealing with a phobia, which include:

Counselling via a referral from GP

Hypnotherapy

Exposure therapy

Cognitive behavioural therapy

In severe cases, prescribed medication for anxiety.

‘I couldn’t even stand to hear ice clinking in glasses. I’d have to drink warm drinks.’

Mrs Wiffen even nearly missed her own wedding with husband Peter four years ago when forecasters predicted snow.

She said: ‘He knew I wouldn’t make if it snowed. I wanted to do the ceremony over the phone.’

However, she now believes the phobia is a problem of her past after receiving treatment on the daytime show on Friday.

Viewers saw her burst into tears when hosts Holly Willoughby and Phillip Schofield showed her an ice cube before treatment and a nurse had to be called after her blood pressure rocketed and she almost fainted.

However, after just 40 minutes of
treatment with psychotherapists Nik and Eva Speakman she went back on
air to demonstrate how she was able to touch an ice cube and even bite
an ice-lolly.

Speaking after
the treatment, she said: ‘I want people to know this treatment can
work, it can change your life like it has mine.

‘I
am so pleased I went for it. I never thought I could be cured but I
can’t wait to make the most of my life without this phobia hanging over
me.’

Mrs Speakman said the phobia was the worst she had ever treated live on air.

Mrs Wiffen even suffered anxiety when watching Dancing on Ice and ended up locking herself in her bedroom whenever it was on television or running out of shops if she saw coverage of it on the front of magazine covers

She said: ‘Wendy’s fear of ice was without doubt the most severe phobia we have attempted to treat under these conditions.

‘With that in mind and only a short time to work with her we had no idea what was going to work or not but Wendy responded so well to our therapy.

‘She realised she was blaming the snow and ice for something that never happened.

‘She was very shocked not to have these feelings that had dominated her life for so long.

‘It’s hugely rewarding to see the difference it is making to her life already.'